Ok I’m no great writer but I am a Christian :) so here I go.
I’ve realised that although we look at the world through our eyes, yet to SEE, is to UNDERSTAND. "Oh now I see" Many times we are influenced by what we looking at, and less by ‘understanding’ or truth. Yesterday Ryan made the example of giving a child a R10 on Long Street as the equivalent to kneeling down with a lighter to light his or her rock pipe. But because what we look at a small child in need of food we react according to what we looking at out of pity, or just to get them away, we give them the R10 which is the same as saying ok just go and smoke your pipe and leave me alone. The truth is that you are lighting a pipe but people will look at you giving him a R10 and not lighting a pipe for him. So there is a difference between what we look at and the truth of the situation.
Relating to one of the boys at the shelter the other day (for those who don’t know me I work at and organisation called Homestead…hello) I took him in our imagination to the scene of a swamp and asked him to tell me what his eyes behold. He plainly said… Mud. I then said that just because his eyes declare mud didn’t mean that it was the reality of the situation, there is a deeper understanding. There is always a greater truth or understanding to what our eyes behold. Although there was mud the reality is that this is where you find lilies, and lilies need mud. Beneath all the mud there was a seed that was not going to be hindered by mud or the darkness of its bed but was going to push through and stand out in all the darkness surrounding it and shine as one of the most beautiful flowers of creation. I believe that the unseen is more real than the seen. Although we need the material things to survive its things like love,courage and perserverance that are unseen, that really matter in life.
Many times we are to focussed on what we looking at (which can be subject to so many different interpretations) and fail to really understand or see. We walk with mud on our faces blinded by circumstances. As long as we continue to look and make decisions upon that we will continue to make decisions that are not in the best interest of children, we will always be fighting, blaming and cursing yet if we seek to understand we will start seeing our responsibility as citizens in society and find our place and position in this world. We can judge kids who sniff glue which many of them use as an escape from reality, and we could be doing the very same thing in a different form, but because our methods of escape are more acceptable by society doesn’t make us any better or better off the difference is that we look at the one doing it but fail to SEE the other one doing it. And this is what we should strive to SEE.
My message is to urge a search for understanding and truth which lie beyond the surface of what we "look" at. It is when we find understanding we begin to see our role and then start taking responsibility not only outside ourselves but also inside ourselves. We are not isolated from the issues in our society and are very much a part of it whether we choose to LOOK or SEE is our responsibility.
Is that Ok?
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3 comments:
The problem for me is what business, government, the security companies and even a lot of the public see when they look at a child on the street. Do they see the potential of their child being there, Do they see a black child, a coloured child, a white child, do they see a child at all? I think we have lost the ability to see children as children, they are seen as a nusance, a hinderance to tourism, bad for business, a plague, an irritant, something to be removed, not of our concern.
I think we give more attention to the baboons of Cape Town roaming our streets than we do the children. If a baboon leaves his troop and crosses into a suburb the radio stations get onto the story, the community helps to track the animal, the police are called in and the animal is gentle returned to its troop by experts, found a new home or carefully rehabilitated. Street Kids are not seen, who cares, who sees them, who feels concern for them, who will gentle parent them.
Great point Gerald, and Paul i think you have hit the nail on the head! a while back i had a dog and when i had to move out of that house quickly, i had to find a new home for the dog because my new flat did not allow animals. i had to move out of the old place in the meantime, and the dog had to stay at the empty house, alone for less than 24 hours. within that time someone reported an "abandoned dog" and the SPCA somehow got my number and were calling me threatening to take the dog from me because i had abondoned it. around that same very time i had five children i was trying to find placement for with no luck what-so-ever! it was a REAL eye opener!!!!
i agree with Paul and Gerald. People are not able to see the truth and are not seeing children as children. I somehow feel that it is just the effort you have to make to just make their life better as everyone else.
People are becoming so used to seeing children on street , employed and harassed that now they just go blind eye. it is now just normal day thing for them.
Abha
Volunteer
Global March Against Child Labour
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